Cibrar^  oftrhe  theological  ^cminarjp 

PRINCETON  . NEW  JERSEY 

-VVV 

•Wr 

PRESENTED  BY 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.S.A. 
Deoartment  of  History 

Presb.  B’d  ot  Pub.  Cull. 

•S'CR 

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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/hindoolifewithpi00webb_0 


T II  n 


BOA  COX.-TniCTOR  AXD  STAG. 


Hindoo 


Life. 


WITH 

PICTURES 


OF  THE 


MEN,  WOMEN,  AND  CHILDREN  OF  INDIA. 


/ 

By  EEV.  EDWARD  WEBB, 

LATE  OF  MADURA,  SOUTH  INDIA. 


PHILADELPHIA : 

PKESBYTEKIAN  PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE, 

1334  CHESTNUT  STREET. 

NEW  YORK  : A.  D.  F.  RANDOLPH,  770  BROADWAY. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1866,  by 

WM.  L.  HILDEBURX,  Treasurer, 
in  trust  for  the 

PRESBYTERIAX  PUBLICATIOX  COMMITTEE, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


Westcott  & Thomson, 
Stereotypers, 
PHILADELPHIA. 


CONTENTS. 

— ooj^oo 

PAGE 

HIXDOO  LIFE 7 

A HINDOO  WOMAN 12 

COOKING  AND  EATING 21 

CLOTHING  AND  JEWELRY 26 

JUGGLERS  AND  SNAKE  CHARMERS .35 

AN  IDOL 38 

WORSHIPING  AN  IDOL 47 

MAKING  IDOLS 50 

A BRAHMIN  PRIEST 59 


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Hindoo  Life. 


XDIA  is  the  name  of  a verv  larQ:e  and 

O 

beautiful  country  on  the  other  side  of 
the  globe.  The  people  that  live  in  that 
country  are  called  Hindoos. 

If  you  should  get  so  much  interested 
in  them  by  reading  this  little  book,  and 
by  looking  at  the  pictures,  that  you  should  want  to  go 
and  see  them,  you  would  have  to  sail  across  the  ocean  in 
a ship.  It  is  so  far  that  it  would  take  you  more  than  a 
hundred  days  and  nights  to  get  there,  going  all  the  time. 
First  you  would  have  to  cross  over  the  north  Atlantic 

7 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


ocean  down  to  tlie  eq[iiator.  Sailors  call  that  “the  line.” 
Without  stopping  there  or  seeing  any  land  you  would  sail 
on  farther  south,  farther  and  farther,  until  you  got  around 
the  cape  of  Good  Hope. 

Xext  you  would  turn  up  northward  into  the  Indian 

ocean.  After  a few  days  you  would  come  to  the  beautiful 

1/  «/ 

island  of  Ceylon.  There,  cinnamon,  nutmegs  and  other 
spices  grow,  and  fill  the  air  with  a sweet  fragrance.  The 
sweet  odor  of  these  spices  is  carried  out  by  the  winds  far 
oyer  the  sea. 

Very  soon  after  passing  Ceylon  you  would  come  to  the 

city  of  Madras,  and  then  to  Calcutta.  These  are  a’reat 

cities,  larger  than  Boston  and  Chicago  and  Cincinnati, 

and  as  large  as  New  York  or  Philadelphia.  Then  yon 

would  leave  the  ship  and  go  ashore. 

At  first  yon  would  be  half  frightened,  everything  would 

be  so  new  and  strange.  The  temples  and  the  idols,  the 

queer-looking  houses,  and  the  crowds  of  people,  not  even 

half  dressed,  and  all  jabbering  away  in  a language  you 

8 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


could  not  understand.  You  would  say  to  yourself  “what 
a strange,  crazy  place  this  is!’^  Very  likely  you  would 
wish  you  were  safely  at  home  again. 

And  then  it  is  altogether  too  far  for  children  to  go, 
and  takes  too  long.  If  you  could  only  fly  there  in  a 
dream,  wake  up  for  an  hour  or  two,  and  look  around,  and 
then  just  go  to  sleep  and  fly  back  again,  that  would  be 
fine  fun. 

Well,  the  next  best  thing  to  going  and  seeing  for 
oneself  is  to  hear  some  one  that  has  been  there  tell  all 
about  it,  or  else  to  have  a book  full  of  nice  large  pictures, 
and  of  reading  that  is  plain  and  easy.  Here  is  just  the 
book  you  want,  pictures  and  all.  It  is  written  on  purpose 
for  you,  by  a missionary  who  has  been  there  and  seen  the 
place,  and  the  people,  and  all  the  things.  So  now  you 
may  just  sit  down  and  look  at  the  pictures,  and  read  it 
over  and  over  as  often  as  you  like. 

Before  you  read  any  further  you  should  look  at  a map 
of  India.  You  would  see  that  it  is  covered  all  over  with 

9 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


the  names  of  cities  and  towns  and  villages.  These  places 
are  full  of  men  and  women  and  children,  just  as  cities 
and  towns  are  in  onr  country,  only  there  are  six  or  seven 
times  more  of  them  than  there  are  of  us  in  all  these 
United  States. 

Ton  must  not  think  that  because  they  are  not  white, 

as  we  are,  that  they  are  just  like  the  Indians,  or  like  the 

negroes.  Their  skin  is  very  seldom  black  or  copper- 

colored,  but  is  brownish,  and  their  face  and  hair,  all 

except  the  color,  are  just  like  ours.  They  are  not  at  all 

ugly  or  unpleasant  to  look  at.  Many  of  the  women  are 

very  beautiful,  and  some  of  the  men  are  noble  and  hand- 

some.  Then  they  are  gentle,  polite  and  well-behaved. 

You  would  think  the  children  especially  very  bright  and 

pretty,  and  after  a time,  when  you  got  used  to  them,  you 

would  not  be  afraid  to  play  with  them.  For  the  children 

play  about  as  they  do  here,  and  some  of  their  games  are 

the  same  as  yours.  Little  girls  play  with  dolls,  and  the 

boys  fly  kites  and  spin  tops.  They  learn  to  read  and 

10 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


write  their  own  language  just  as  we  do  ours,  and  some 
of  them  are  very  clever  in  drawing  and  painting.  They 
all  sing,  too,  in  their  own  way,  and  sometimes  it  sounds 
sweetly. 

But  there  is  one  thing  about  them  you  will  be  sorry  to 
hear,  and  that  is  that  they  are  all  idolaters.  They  wor- 
ship images  instead  of  the  true  God.  Perhaps  you  have 

heard  this  before;  but  there  are  some  things  about  it  that 
» 

you  have  not  heard.  They  will  be  quite  new  and  strange 
to  you,  and  you  will  think  it  is  a great  pity  such  clever 
people  should  be  so  foolish  and  wicked.  When  you  read 
these  things  you  must  pray  to  God  to  send  them  mission- 
aries to  teach  them  better. 


o 


11 


A Hindoo  Woman. 

x;^^oo 

ERE  is  a picture  of  a ^voman  'witli  her 
spinning-w^heel,  and  her  baby  lying  on 
the  mat  before  her.  If  yon  should  pass 
tlirongh  a Hindoo  village  some  time  in 
the  afternoon  you  might  see  the  women 
sitting  down  on  mats,  spread  out  in  the 
shade  of  their  house,  and  spinning  cotton,  just  as  she  is. 
Sometimes  you  w^onld  see  one  all  by  herself,  and  some- 
times half  a dozen  together.  Many  of  them  Avoiild  be 
quite  as  good-looldng  and  good-natured  as  she  seems 
to  be. 


12 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


Some  very  poor  women  go  with  their  husbands  to 
work  in  the  fields,  because  they  can  earn  a little  more 
tliat  way  than  by  spinning.  When  they  do  so  they  take 
their  baby  with  them  and  put  it  to  sleep  in  the  shade 
of  a tree,  where  they  leave  it,  while  they  are  at  work, 
swinging  in  a long  cloth  tied  around  one  of  the  boughs. 

Let  us  look  at  the  picture  again.  That  is  her  house. 
The  walls  are  made  of  clay  or  moistened  earth  piled  up; 
these  walls  they  cut  down  outside  and  in,  smooth  them 
oft*  and  leave  them  to  dry  in  the  sun.  Then  they  put  on 
a roof  and  thatch  it  with  straw  or  palm-leaf,  or  cover  it 
in  Avith  tiles.  That  queer-looking  animal  on  the  roof  is  a 
lizard;  there  are  many  of  them  about,  but  they  don’t 
hurt,  so  nobody  is  afraid  of  them.  Those  large  leaA^es  are 
the  leaves  of  the  beautiful  banana-tree.  They  plant  them 
near  the  house,  not  for  the  fruit  only,  but  for  their  cool 
shade  and  pleasant  green. 

Would  you  like  to  go  into  her  house  and  see  Iioav  it 
looks  inside?  I do  not  think  she  will  object.  So  just 

15 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


fancy  we  are  leaviiiGi:  her  for  awhile  and  a;oinQi:  round  the 
corner  there  to  the  door  on  the  other  side.  You  see  the 
roof  stretches  out  a good  way  from  the  wall  in  front,  so 
it  makes  a nice  shady  place  outside;  and  there  is  a raised 
seat  under  it  made  of  earth  like  the  walls,  hut  it  is  hard 
and  clean,  and  is  coyered  with  a mat.  It  must  he  a 
pleasant  place  to  sit  and  talk.  Grown  people  must  stoop 
pretty  low  or  they  will  hump  their  heads,  hut  children 
will  haye  no  trouble. 

There  is  no  window,  so  it  seems  dark  to  us  at  first;  we 
shall  see  clearer  in  a minute  or  two.  There,  now  you  can 

4 

see  to  the  end  on  that  side.  That  is  where  she  cooks. 
Look  at  those  rests;  they  are  for  the  earthen  pots  in 
which  she  hoils  her  rice.  There  is  no  chimney,  so  the 

smoke  spreads  all  about  and  goes  out  through  the  thatched 

/ 

roof.  You  see  those  two  piles  of  earthen  pots  in  the  cor- 
ner. Yliat  are  they  for?  One  holds  rice,  and  another 
spices  and  seeds,  and  another  yegetahles.  Those  standing 

one  oyer  the  other  in  that  pile  are  used  for  cooking.  The 

16 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


lame  one,  stanclimi;  bv  itself,  holds  water.  There  is  a 
little  bundle  of  sticks,  too,  for  the  fire  in  the  evening. 
How  neatly  she  has  put  everything  in  its  place,  and  how 
clean  and  tidv  all  looks.  Just  here  where  we  stand,  near 
the  door  in  the  middle  of  the  house,  they  eat.  They 
never  use  table  or  chairs,  but  spread  a mat  upon  the 
hard,  dry  earthen  floor,  and  then  sit  down  on  that  to  eat. 

But,  where  do  they  sleep  and  what  do  they  sleep  on? 
Those  mats  neatly  rolled  up  and  standing  in  the  corner 
there,  at  the  other  end,  take  the  place  of  bed  and  bedstead. 

At  night  she  makes  a swinging  cradle  for  her  baby  of  a 
long  cloth  hung  round  one  of  the  cross-beams.  They  are 
just  as  happy  here  as  they  would  be  in  a house  with 
many  rooms  and  plenty  of  rich  furniture,  because  they 
are  contented,  and  are  not  all  the  time  wishing  for  some-  j 
thing  more  or  better. 

Oh,  if  now  they  only  knew  what  we  know  about  the 
way  to  be  saved,  and  had  the  blessed  Bible  in  their 
house!  That  is  what  the  missionaries  go  for,  you  know. 

17 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


They  tell  them  about  Jesus,  the  holy  Saviour,  and  per- 
i suacle  them  to  be  Christians. 

Xow  let  us  go  back  and  look  at  that  woman  again. 
Since  you  have  seen  her  house  do  vou  not  feel  more 
I interested  in  her?  It  seems  as  if  she  were  looking  at 
I her  work  and  thinking  about  her  babe,  and  the  little 
j thing  is  laughing  and  kicking  and  looking  up  at  her,  just  ‘ 

I as  our  babies  do.  Out  of  that  roll  of  cotton  which  she 
I holds  in  her  left  hand  she  is  spinning  the  thread,  while 
I she  turns  the  wheel  with  her  right.  The  cotton  grows  in 
I the  fields  around.  When  it  is  picked  and  brought  home, 
the  seeds  are  separated  from  it  by  means  of  a little  simple 
machine  which  she  has  in  her  house.  Then  it  is  carded, 

I 

i that  is,  the  fibres  are  all  drawn  out  one  from  another. 

I 

I 

I This  is  done  by  an  instrument  like  a bow  which  boys 

i 

I play  with.  It  is  then  made  up  into  small  rolls,  and  is 
! ready  for  spinning.  This  thread  is  afterwards  sold  to  the 
weavers,  who  make  muslin  of  it  for  jackets  and  cloths 

I 

such  as  she  has  on. 

18 

I ' 


MJVO.U  (MHiVlir 


Cooking  and  Eating. 

EFORE  the  sun  sets  this  woman  will  put 

away  her  spinning,  and  begin  to  prepare 

for  her  husband’s  return.  He  has  been 

at  work  in  the  fields  ever  since  earlv 

morning,  and  will  come  home,  by-and-by, 

hungry  and  tired;  so  she  must  have  a 

warm  supper  ready  for  him. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  get  fresh  water  from 

the  well.  The  well,  or  tank,  as  it  is  called  in  India,  is 

very  large,  and  is  just  outside  the  village.  There  is  but 

one  for  all  the  families  in  the  place.  In  the  picture  on 

21 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


tlie  opposite  page  you  see  a company  of  women  going  to 
the  tank  with  their  water-pots.  Does  it  not  make  you 
think  of  the  woman  of  Samaria,  who  came  to  draw  water, 

and  found  Jesus  sitting  and  resting  by  the  well?  This  j 

! 

well  is  very  different  from  Jacob’s,  which  she  came  to,  for  | 
that  was  deep  and  needed  a long  rope  to  reach  the  water. 
There  are  steps  down  into  this,  and  the  women  all  go- 
down  to  the  water,  dip  their  vessels  in  and  till  them. 
Then  they  place  a little  coil  made  with  the  end  of  their 
cloth  on  the  top  of  the  head,  into  which  they  set  their 
water-pot.  This  holds  it,  so  that  they  do  not  steady,  or 
even  touch  it  with  their  hands  on  their  way  home. 

Some  persons  say  that  it  is  by  carrying  the  water  on  i 
their  heads  in  this  wav  that  the  Hindoo  women  have  | 
such  erect  and  graceful  forms. 

Do  you  see  some  persons  on  the  other  side  of  the  bank, 
standing  in  the  water  and  filling  their  vessels?  From 
tlie  manner  in  which  they  are  dressed  we  judge  they  are 
^lohammedans.  Their  cloths  are  drawn  over  their  heads 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


and  tlieir  arms  also  are  covered.  There  are  a Q;reat  many 

O 

Mohammedans  in  India.  Those  buildings  in  the  distance,  , 

I 

on  the  other  side  of  the  tank,  are  temples,  or  mosques,  in  ; 
which  they  worship. 

In  this  company  of  women  can  you  pick  out  our  friend  i 
whom  we  saw  spinning? 

She  will  now  hasten  home  with  the  water,  kindle  the 
fire,  and  prepare  the  curry  to  eat  with  it.  She  makes  the 

i 

curry  of  meat  or  vegetables,  cut  up  into  small  pieces  and 
fried  or  boiled,  with  butter,  cocoanut-milk,  red  pepper 
and  other  hot  spices.  Xow  she  lights  the  little  oil-lamp 
that  stands  in  the  place  made  for  it  in  the  wall.  There 

comes  her  husband.  She  has  some  water  all  ready  to 

«/ 

pour  on  his  hands.  Xow  she  spreads  out  the  dining-mat 
for  him.  After  he  is  seated  she  brin2:s  the  rice  steaming 
in  the  pot  in  which  it  was  boiled,  and  piles  it  up  on  a 
leaf  or  in  a brass  plate  in  front  of  him.  For  this  purpose  i 
she  uses  a ladle  or  spoon  made  of  a portion  of  a shell 
of  a cocoanut,  through  which  a split  piece  of  a bamboo 

3 23 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


is  tliriist  for  a handle.  She  now  brings  the  ciiny  and 
ladles  it  out  in  the  same  wav,  pouring  it  into  and  all  over 
the  rice. 

All  is  now  ready;  but  has  she  not  forgotten  something? 
He  has  no  spoon,  or  knife,  or  fork.  Xo!  he  does  not  need 
anything  of  the  kind.  He  uses  his  fingers  only;  but  he 
has  learned  to  use  them  very  skilfully  and  even  neatly. 
You  observe  that  he  does  not  soil  them  above  the  second 
joint.  First  he  mixes  up  the  curry  with  the  rice,  a 
portion  of  it  only  at  once,  and,  when  he  has  eaten  that, 
another  portion,  and  so  on.  He  takes  upon  his  fingers 
about  as  much  as  a dessert-spoon  would  hold,  then,  with 
a few  movements,  works  it  into  a ball,  which  he  raises 
towards  his  mouth  and  shoots  it  in  with  his  thumb. 
While  he  eats  she  stands  by  to  bring  him  whatever  he 
needs. 

Xow  he  has  done  and  slie  brings  him  water  to  drink. 
It  is  not  rude  to  watch  him  at  this  distance,  and  you 
need  not  mind  laughing  even  if  you  feel  like  it.  Just 

24 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


look  at  liim  as  lie  throws  back  his  head,  opens  his  mouth 
and  pours  in  a stream  without  touching  the  cup  with  his 
lips.  The  Hindoos  all  drink  so,  because  they  think  it 
defiles  anything  to  touch  it  with  the  lips.  On  this 
account  they  will  not  use  a spoon,  because  it  passes  so 
often  from  the  food  into  the  mouth,  and  from  the  mouth 
into  the  food  again.  When  he  has  risen  and  she  has 
once  more  poured  water  on  his  hands  she  will  take  her 
own  supper,  and  not  till  then.  If  she  had  sons  they  would 
eat  with  their  father,  but  her  daughtei’s  would  always 
have  to  eat  with  her.  She  is  almost  like  a slave.  She 
can  not  read,  for  they  say  it  is  not  right  for  a woman  to 
learn.  So  there  are  no  girls^  schools.  When  she  goes 
out  with  her  husband  she  must  walk  behind  him,  carrv- 
ing  her  baby  and  the  food  for  the  way. 

The  Hindoos ' treat  their  women  so  because  thev  are 

%j 

heathen  and  do  not  know  better;  but  the  missionaries 
teach  them  that  a woman  is  as  good  as  a man,  and  tluit 
a girl  is  worth  as  much  as  a boy,  and  a little  more,  too. 

25 


Clothing  and  Jewelry. 

0-0^:®^  OO 

HE  dress  of  the  Hindoos  is  very  different 

from  ours.  A piece  of  muslin  about  a 

yard  vide  and  ten  yards  long  folded 

gracefully  around  and  fastened  firmly  is 

all  the  clothing  a Hindoo  woman  has. 

A few,  who  have  seen  the  way  in  which 

white  ladies  dress,  sometimes  wear  a little  jacket  with 

short  sleeves,  as  the  spinning-woman  in  the  picture,  but 

that  is  not  very  common  out  of  the  cities. 

The  Hindoo  woman  puts  on  her  cloth  just  as  it  comes 

from  the  bazaar,  without  cutting  or  sewing.  She  has  a 

26 


0 II  X A M E X '1'  ,S  I X 1 X 1 ) I A 1’.  2 7 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


way  of  tucking  it  in  and  fixing  it  so  firmly  that  it  needs 
no  extra  fastening,  no  jiins,  or  hooks,  or  buttons.  It 
hangs  down  to  the  feet,  and  leaves  only  her  arms  and  one 
of  her  shoulders  uncovered.  She  never  wears  either  bon- 
net or  cap,  and  would  think  it  as  strange  to  cover  her 
hands  with  gloves,  or  her  feet  with  socks  and  shoes,  as 
we  do  for  her  to  wear  a large  ring  in  her  nose, 'as  that 
lady  in  the  picture  opposite  does.  Sometimes,  when  she 
is  going  to  walk  a long  way  or  over  a very  rough  road, 
she  puts  on  sandals,  but  always  slips  them  off  before  she 
goes  into  a house.  Instead  of  wearing  a bonnet  or  hat 
she  loosens  one  end  of  her  cloth  and  raises  it  up  from 
behind  upon  her  head,  allowing  it  to  fall  in  free  and 
graceful  folds  over  her  arms.  Are  you  not  surprised  that 
she  is  able  to  dress  so  neatly  and  so  modestly  with  so 
little  clothing? 

You  must  not  think  from  this  that  there  are  no  fine 
ladies  in  India,  and  that  they  can  not  possibly  spend 
much  time  or  money  upon  their  dress,  for  they  talk  as 

29 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


mucli  about  dress  and  fasliion  there  as  here,  only  the 
fashion  here  is  to  change  to  some  new  style,  whilst  there 
it  is  not  to  change  at  all,  but  to  keep  to  the  old  style. 
Their  cloth  may  be  of  any  color  or  any  figure ; it  may  be 
of  cotton  or  silk;  it  may  be  of  any  quality,  too.  It  is 
sometimes  made  of  fine  lace  or  muslin,  worked  with 
various  figures  and  embroidered;  sometimes  the  silk  is 
ornamented  with  gold  and  silver  tissue.  It  has  generally 
a handsome  border,  which  they  take  much  pains  to  dis- 
play. The  very  poorest  can  not  afford  more  than  one  or 
two  coarse  white  cloths;  those  that  are  a little  better 
off  have  a colored  one  for  best.  The  wealthy  have  a great 
variety  of  rich  and  handsome  patterns.  But  whatever 
the  pattern  or  quality,  it  is  put  on  in  the  same  way.  So, 
too,  their  hair,  which  is  black  and  glossy,  is  always  parted 
in . the  middle,  and  gathered  up  in  a knot  near  the  neck, 
at  the  back  of  the  head.  In  doing  it  up  they  often 
sprinkle  in  the  petals  of  the  jasmine  and  other  sweet- 
scented  flowers. 

30 


L 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


Both  men  and  women  are  passionately  fond  of  jewelry. 
Many  native  ladies  seem  to  be  covered  from  the  crown 
of  the  head  to  the  soles  of  the  feet  with  ornaments  made 
of  gold  and  silver,  in  which  are  often  seen  sparkling 
diamonds  and  other  precious  stones.  On  the  top  of  the 
head  a gold  plate  is  fastened,  around  which  is  hung  a 
string  of  pearls  from  which  pendants  hang  over  the  fore- 
head; the  ears  are  loaded  with  jewels;  the  nose  is  bored 
on  both  sides  and  in  the  center  to  receive  more ; the  neck 
is  circled  with  gold  bands,  with  necklaces  of  gold  beads, 
and  pearls  and  precious  stones;  the  arms  are  covered 
both  above  and  below  the  elbow  with  armlets  and  wrist- 
lets; there  are  rings  of  various  patterns  for  each  of  the 
fingers;  the  ankles  are  burdened  with  heavy  silver  ank- 
lets, like  fetters,  several  inches  round;  and,  like  the 
fingers,  almost  every  toe  has  its  own  particular  ornament. 

Of  course  only  those  who  are  very  rich  can  afford  to 
wear  so  much ; but  every  woman  sets  her  heart  on  getting 
as  much  as  she  can.  Before  they  are  a year  old  little 

31 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


girls  are  taken  to  liave  tlieir  ears  bored.  The  hole  which 
is  bored  is  constantly  stretched  to  make  it  larger  and 
larger.  For  this  purpose  three  or  four  heavy  leaden  rings 
are  hung  into  each  ear.  It  is  funny  to  see  the  little  girls 
when  they  run  holding  up  these  rings  with  their  hands, 
for  fear  the  weight  of  them  as  they  dangle  about  should 
tear  their  ear  apart. 

The  men,  too,  wear  jewelry  in  their  ears  and  nose,  on 
one  of  the  fingers  and  on  several  of  the  toes.  Their  dress 
is  different  from  that  of  the  women.  They  have  two 

I 

shorter  cloths  of  white  cotton.  One  is  tied  tiadit  around 
the  waist  and  tlien  wrapped  round  several  times.  The 
i other  is  thrown  like  a scarf  over  the  shoulders.  Instead 
of  a hat  or  cap  they  wear  a turban.  This  is  generally 
made  of  a long  narrow  strip  of  thin  muslin  wrapped 
many  times  around  the  head.  They  wear  slippers,  too, 
more  frequently  than  the  women.  These  are  made  of 

I 

colored  leather,  pointed  at  the  toes  and  turning  upward. 


32 


Jugglers  and  Snake  Charmers. 

— — o-oJ^Oo 

HERE  are  a great  many  serpents,  scor- 
pions iand  other  yenomous  reptiles  in 
India.  The  poor  natives  are  often  bitten 
or  stung  in  their  houses  and  when  walk- 
ing out  of  doors  after  dark.  At  that  time 
they  always  carry  a torch  with  them,  or 
walk  clapping  their  hands,  to  frighten  them  out  of  the 
path,  lest  they  should  tread  on  them.  The  most  deadly 
of  the  snakes  is  called  the  cobra.  It  is  seven  or  eight 
feet  long  and  nearly  as  large  as  your  arm. 

These  are  cobras,  or  cobra  di  capellas,  that  those  men 

4 ' 35 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


are  playing  with  in  the  picture.  The  men  are  jug- 
glers or  snake  charmers.  They  make  a great  deal  of 
money  hy  going  from  place  to  place,  as  showmen  do  in 
oiir  country.  There  are  five  men  in  this  company.  Two 
of  them  have  serpents  coiled  about  them,  and  are  holding 
them  up  and  playing  with  them.  One  man  is  playing  on 
a musical  instrument  a tune  which  seems  to  bewilder,  or, 
as  we  say,  charm  the  venomous  creatures  so  that  they 
I can  not  bite;  another  is  keeping  time  by  beating  upon 
j a drum. 

You  see  another  with  his  hand  in  a basket.  There  is 
I a snake  coiled  up  in  that,  and  he  is  going  to  take  it  out. 
They  carry  all  the  serpents  about  in  little  round  flat 
baskets  like  that.  Sometimes  these  men  are  bitten  and 
die,  though  they  say  their  charms  will  keep  the  snakes 
from  biting,  or  destroy  their  poison  if  they  should.  With 
the  sword  and  balls  lying  there  in  front,  they  perform 
some  curious  and  wonderful  feats  of  jugglery.  The  gen- 
tlemen on  horseback  are  European  officers.  The  houses 

36 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


are  very  different  from  the  spinning-woman^s  that  we 
saw.  You  see  such  as  those  in  the  large  towns  and 
cities.  Ton  will  ffnd  something  more  about  snakes  if  you 
read  on  a little  farther.  The  natives  call  the  cobra  a god, 
and  are  on  that  account  afraid  to  kill  it.  The  snake  in 
the  picture  on  the  title  iiage  is  a boa.  It  is  so  large  that 
it  can  even  swallow  a deer. 


37 


4N  IDOL. 


o-cV€^cxi 

EKE  YOU  have  a picture  of  one  of  their 
idols.  It  is  one  they  are  very  fond  of, 
and  worship  oftener  than  any  other. 
You  will  wonder  what  there  is  in  that 
disagreeable-looking  thing  to  be  so  fond 
of,  that  they  should  even  fall  down  and 

worship  it. 

That  mother  has  brought  her  little  boy  and  is  teaching 
him  to  pray  to  it.  See  how  she  puts  his  little  hands 
together  and  tries  to  make  him  repeat  its  name.  She 
thinks  that  ugly-looking  stone  image  can  see  and  hear 

38 


’<)  wo  RSII  rp  A II  1 X 1)0  0 1 1)0  p 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


and  can  bless  her  bov  and  can  take  care  of  him.  So, 
before  he.  can  stand  alone  or  speak  plainly,  she  wants 
him  to  begin  to  worship  it.  Christian  mothers  that  love 
the  souls  of  their  dear  children  do  so  too,  only  they  bring 
their  little  children  to  the  blessed  Saviour,  and  teach 
them  to  pray  and  to  lisp  the  name  of  Jesus. 

Whilst  I am  writing  this  there  is  a real  image,  just  like 
that  in  the  picture,  standing  on  my  table.  It  is  made 
of  stone  and  is  no  bigger  than  your  hand,  and  has  often 
been  worshiped  in  India.  Once,  when  the  man  to  whom 
it  belonged  was  carrying  it,  he  let  it  fall.  By  that  fall 
one  of  its  hands  was  broken  off.  When  he  saw  this  he 
brought  it  to  a missionary  and  left  it  with  him;  ‘"For,” 
he  said,  '‘if  it  can  not  take  care  of  itself  it  can  not  help 
me.”  After  that  he  became  a Christian. 

The  idol  in  the  picture  looks  as  though  it  might  be 
very  large,  perhaps  six  feet  or  more  in  height;  sometimes 
they  are  made  larger  even  than  that.  Some  are  made 
of  wood  and  of  brass,  and  some  even  of  silver  and  a:old 

41 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


and  of  precious  stones.  This  idol  has  a great  many 
names.  One  of  the  most  common  is  Gana-pathi,  which 
means  “lord  of  hosts another  very  common  one  is  Pilli- 
yar,  meaning  “the  great  child.’^  It  has  a very  stout 
body,  fat  short  legs  and  arms,  and  an  eleiihant’s  head 
tusk  and  trunk. 

The  stories  they  tell  about  the  way  this  god  came  to 
have  an  elephants  head  are  very  foolish,  but  they  really 
believe  them,  so  I will  tell  you  one  of  them.  They  say 
he  was  once  a little  baby  like  any  other  baby,  only  his 
parents  were  gods.  His  father’s  name  was  Siva  and  his 
mother’s  Diirga.  Soon  after  he  was  born  some  of  the 
other  gods  came  to  see  him.  Among  them  there  was  one 
whose  name  Avas  Sani,  the  god  of  the  planet  Saturn. 
Sani  hung  doAvn  his  head  and  Avoiild  not  look  at  the 
child,  because  he  kncAv  some  dreadful  thing  Avould  hap- 
pen to  it  if  he  did.  Diirga,  the  mother  of  the  child,  did 
not  knoAV  this,  and  so  she  scolded  him  for  treating  her 
and  her  child  in  that  Avay.  Sani  then  became  angry  and 

42 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


fixed  liis  fiery  eyes  on  the  head  of  Gana-pathi,  which  was 
instantly  consumed,  and  the  child  was  left  headless.  The 
mother,  Ml  of  grief  and  anger,  went  directly  to  a very 
powerful  god  named  Brah-ma  to  complain.  Brah-ma 
ordered  Sani  to  go  into  the  woods  and  to  cut  off  the  head 
of  the  first  animal  he  should  find  and  bring  it  along. 
The  first  animal  he  found  was  an  elephant,  whose  head 
he  brought.  Brah-ma  then  directed  him  to  fix  it  on  the 
body  of  Gana-pathi,  and  there  it  remained  and  grew. 
He  is  now  worshiped  all  over  India  more  than  any  other 
god.  This  idol  is  set  up  in  every  house  and  in  every 
school-room,  and  the  children  pray  to  it  as  they  go  into 
the  room  and  before  they  begin  to  learn  their  lessons. 
This  is  one  of  the  prayers  which  they  say: 

‘‘Great  Gana-pathi,  thou  in  sport 
' Dost  clap  thy  hands  and  dance, 

Dost  crack  six  cocoanuts,  and  eat 
Bushels  of  rice  at  once. 

Like  us  thou  lovest  sweetmeats  too. 

So  look  on  us  and  help  us  now. 

43 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


Once  in  a year  the  grown  people  honor  him  with  a 
great  feast.  Then  the  children  make  images  of  him  out 
of  clay  and  get  their  parents  and  others  to  give  them 

t *’ 

plenty  of  cakes  and  candies  for  offerings  to  him,  after 
which  they  have  a good  time ; for  if  Gana-pathi  can  not 
1 eat  them  thev  know  who  can. 

I %j 

1 

The  Hindoos  think  that  this  God  is  able  to  help  them 
I to  do  anything  they  desire  by  taking  away  whatever 
hinders  it  or  prevents  it  from  succeeding.  They  call 
upon  him  for  aid  by  repeating  a prayer  or  by  making  his 
sign.  If  they  are  going  to  build  a house  they  make  it  in 
the  sand;  if  they  are  about  to  write  a letter  to  a friend 
that  mark  is  always  made  first  at  the  top  of  the  page. 
Sometimes,  instead  of  that  mark,  they  write  these  words, 

I 

“By  the  help  of  Gana-pathi.’’  May  we  not  learn  a good  | 
lesson  from  these  poor  heathen,  and  remember  what  Jesus  | 
savs  to  us:  “Without  me  ve  can  do  nothing.”  I 

«/  c/ 


44 


Worshiping  an  idol. 



He  idol  in  this  picture  is  the  same  as  that 
in  the  other.  There  is  a man  standing 
in  front  of  it,  pouring  oil  upon  its  head. 
Some  of  you  wdll  remember  that  this  is 
just  w^hat  Jacob  did  at  Bethel,  wdien  he 
took  the  stone  he  had  used  for  a pillo'w 
and  set  it  up  and  “poured  oil  upon  it.’^  God  told  him 
to  set  up  the  stone,  that  wdienever  he  saw  it  he  might 
remember  the  w^onderful  vision  he  had  had  there,  and 
then  to  pour  the  oil  upon  it,  just  to  mark  it,  so  that  he 
might  always  kno^v  it  from  tlie  other  stones.  But  Jacob 

5 47 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


knew  better  than  to  worship  it.  Perhaps  the  Hindoos 
got  into  the  way  of  pouring  oil  upon  their  idols  in  this 
way  and  from  hearing  of  this  thing  which  Jacob  did. 
Blit  they  think  they  do  a great  honor  to  their  gods  when 
they  anoint  them.  You  would  not  think  it  was  an  honor 
when  you  saw  what  black,  filthy  and  unpleasant-looking 
objects  it  made  them. 

This  idol  is  set  up  out  of  doors,  in  a grove.  The  tree  , 
growing  near,  with  branches  stretching  over  it,  looks  like 
a banyan.  The  others  are  cocoanut-trees.  Those  in  the 
distance,  over  the  river,  are  Palmyra-trees. 

Wherever  you  go  in  India  you  see  idols — by  the  road- 
side, in  the  palm-groves  and  under  the  green  wide- 
spreading  banyan.  This  idol  stands  upon  a square  stone. 
Behind  it  is  a pillar,  on  which  stands  an  oil-lamp.  On 
still  nights  this  is  lighted.  The  man  pouring  the  oil  is 
probably  the  priest.  Under  his  arm  is  a garland  of 
flowers,  which  he  will  leave  there.  He  has  also  some 
sacred  ashes,  with  which  he  will  mark  its  forehead.  He 

48 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


does  this  every  day.  Sometimes  he  brings  fruit  and 
sugar  and  rice  as  an  offering.  All  the  while  he  stands 
there  doing  these  things  he  keeps  repeating  his  prayers, 
or  muntras,  as  he  calls  them.  Should  we  not  be  more 
earnest  in  praying  to  the  great  and  holy  Saviour  than  he 
is  in  praying  to  his  dumb  idol? 


49 


MAKixG  Idols. 

ck;>»4oo 

EEE  in  this  picture  you  see  the  Hindoos 
at  -work  making  their  idols. 

That  man  on  the  ridit-hand  side  is 

I / 

sawina’  a stick  of  wood.  One  niece  of  it 

C / 

is  for  an  idol;  and  when  he  has  finished 
it  he  will  worship  it  and  pray  to  it,  and 
will  say,  “Deliver  me,  for  thou  art  my  god.”  Vsith.  the 
rest  he  will  kindle  a fire,  and  will  warm  himself  and  say, 
“Aha,  I am  warm,”  as  the  prophet  Isaiah  says  ot  the 
heathen  in  his  day  in  chapter  xliv.  The  man  at  the 
back  there,  on  the  left-hand  side,  has  nearly  finislied  an 

image  of  Gana-pathi. 


50 


/ 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


Tlie  workman  in  front  is  just  toiicliing  off  one  of  the 
four  lieads  of  a serpent.  On  its  body,  whieli  is  coiled  up 
below,  there  is  a god  sleeping.  The  name  of  that  god  is 
Yishnoo.  The  story  which  is  told  of  this  god  in  their 
sacred  books  is  very  curious.  The  serpent,  they  say,  was 
an  enormous  one,  with  a thousand  heads.  It  lav  floating 
upon  a shoreless,  fathomless  ocean  of  milk.  It  was  float- 
ing there  long  before  the  world,  or  any  of  the  gods  even, 
were  created.  During  all  this  time  the  god  Yishnoo,  who 
was  the  father  of  all  the  gods,  lay  sleeping  on  the  folds 
of  its  enormous  body.  He  had  lain  there  for  millions  and 
millions  of  years,  wlien  there  sprung  up  out  of  him  a lotus 
flower.  Out  of  this, flower  there  came' another  great  god 
called  Brahma.  As  soon  as  Brahma  was  born  he  created 
a number  of  big  elephants  and  made  them  stand  on  the 
heads  of  the  serpent.  Then  he  created  the  world  and  put 
that  on  the  backs  of  the  elephants. 

How  thankful  we  should  be  that  we  were  not  taught 
to  believe  such  foolish  stories,  but  have  the  holy  Bible, 

53 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


which  was  given  to  us  by  the  true  God,  who,  by  his 
almighty  power,  created  the  world.  The  Hindoos  worship 
both  Vishnoo  and  the  serpent  on  which  he  lies.  Every- 
where you  see  images  of  the  cobra.  They  even  build 
temples  for  it,  and  pray  to  it  and  make  it  many  offerings. 
When  they  have  one  in  their  houses,  as  they  often  do, 
they  do  not  dare  to  kill  it,  but  give  it  milk  and  fruit,  and 
treat  it  with  great  respect.  Besides  the  serpent,  they 
worship  many  other  animals. 

They  call  the  coio  the  “mother  of  the  gods.^^  If  a man 
kills  a cow  they  say  he  will  be  punished  in  the  other 
world  for  as  many  years  as  there  are  hairs  on  her  body. 
Some  of  them  think  thev  are  sure  of  a:oing  to  heaven, 
if,  when  they  die,  they  hold  in  their  hand  the  tail  of  a 
cow.  The  sacred  ashes,  which  they  rub  upon  their  idols, 
and  with  which  thev  mark  themselves  everv  morning,  are 
made  by  burning  cow-dung.  Bulls  are  an  especial  object 
of  reverence.  You  often  see  them  walking  about  around 
tlie  temples;  large,  fat,  sleek-looking  fellows;  they  get 

54 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


to  be  very  bold  and  self-willed,  because  everybody  feeds 
them  and  treats  them  well.  They  go  through  the  bazaars, 
or  market-places,  and  help  themselves  to  grain  or  fruit 
from  the  stalls,  and  the  shop-keepers  do  not  dare  to  beat 
them  away,  lest  they  should  offend  the  god.  Thus  the 
Hindoos  have  to  pay  for  their  folly.  These  Brahminee 
bulls'  often  stand  about  in  the  narrow  streets  and  block 
up  the  way.  Sometimes  you  hear  a man  beg  one  of  them 
to  get  out  of  the  way.  He  will  say,  “Please,  my  lord,  be 
so  good  as  to  stand  aside  and  let  me  pass.’’ 

They  worship  the  monkey,  too.  There  is  a monkey- 
god,  of  whom  they  tell  the  most  wonderful  and  ridiculous 
stories.  When  he  was  quite  a child,  he  one  day  saw  the 
rising  sun,  and  thinking  it  was  a ripe  fruit,  he  leaped  up 
to  seize  and  eat  it.  One  of  the  gods,  seeing  what  he  was 
doing,  struck  him  with  a thunderbolt,  upon  which  he  fell 
to  the  earth  and  broke  his  cheek-bone ; so  from  that  thev 
called  him  Hanu-man,  for  lianu,  in  that  language,  means 
cheek-bone.  They  say  he  was  wonderfully  strong.  When 

55 


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■ vs  ■i-:i.7!T:'-W 
" V..  ,-,s3i(sg 

* ■ V 


, -V  . > 

K* 


<•  ■ 
•■  -If 


*<  ■ 


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■r  . n';.;- 


“ ' - ‘---*-  'i'lj  . . ■ ^ ■’  ^ 

Vh  ■••-ica^’j'-  >■  / .|i’ invar jij  >:Siirt)')rrv-  .‘1  i<-'’‘fr:r’  •/■•;■•  f. 


-V  ^->  •'  » - /^Sr*  j , T>=  *'•  '•  > 

• ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ * * * • * j ' J 

, i.  i v'  ’■V>;^f'itv:'U>vt' ’^•t,.v  |(-^^  - 

,.J»?  '.,.  , . '■  ,.»v.^-v  5^  ‘ ':  ; •••  V ' ^ 


:.:.*■ ». 


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IbSSt 


r,  RAIIMIN  RKCEIVIN(J  WORSHIP. 


A BRAHMIN  PRIEST. 

HE  man  wlio^  stands  looking  np  and 
stretching  out  his  hand  in  tl^at  picture 
is  a priest,  or  gooroo,  as  they  call  him. 
He  is  also  called  a Brahmin.  It  is  his 
business  to  read  and  explain  the  vedas 
to  the  people.  The  vedas  are  to  them 
what  the  Bible  is  to  us.  There  are  four  of  them.  They 
are  all  written  in  a language  which  the  common  peoi)le 
do  not  understand.  They  are  not  translated  as  the  Bible 
is ; so  that  when  the  people  want  to  know  what  the  vedas 
say  tliey  are  obliged  to  ask  the  Brahmins.  These  Brahmins 

6 59 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


say  tliey  are  gods,  and  try  to  make  the  people  believe  it. 
In  the  vedas  they  say  there  is  the  following  verse: 

Creation  bows  before  its  IMaker’s  nod, 

Bat  rauntras  can  enchain  the  power  of  God, 

Yet  mantras  do  before  the  sacred  Brahmins  bow. 

So  Brahmins  are  the  gods  of  mortals,  and  immortals  now. 

Mnntras  are  short  prayers,  the  meaning  of  which  the 
priests  themselves  do  not  always  understand.  There  is 
one  which  they  think  possesses  very  great  power.  It  has 
these  live  syllables,  Na,  Ma,  Si,  Ya,  Ya.  When  these  are 
all  pronounced  as  they  should  be,  it  is  said  they  produce 
the  most  wonderful  effects.  Once  fire  was  seen  to  come 
straight  down  fi’om  heaven  and  burn  up  all  the  sin  in  the 
man  who  pronounced  them;  and  at  another  a flock  of 
crows  were  seen  to  fly  out  of  the  body  of  a man.  These, 
the  gooroo  said,  were  the  sins  which  he  had  committed 
before  he  was  born.  Some  muntras  have  power  sufficient 
to  destroy  an  army,  and  some  to  make  even  the  gods 
tremble. 


60 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


You  will  say  that  all  this  is  very  foolish  and  wicked ; 
and  so  it  is.  e kno\y,  howeyer,  that  there  is  great 
power  in  the  prayer  of  a good  man,  for  the  Bible  says 
that  “the  effectual,  feiwent  prayer  of  a righteous  man 
ayaileth  much.’^  And  the  prayer  of  a child  eyen,  when 
it  comes  from  his  heart,  has  power  enough  “to  moye  the 
hand  that  moyes  the  world.” 

In  the  picture  there  is  a man  worshiping  a Brahmin. 
He  has  fallen  down  before  him  with  his  face  to  the 
ground.  The  Brahmin  is  repeating  a muntra  and  hold- 
ing out  his  hand  to  giye  him  his  blessing.  But  the  poor 
man  must  giye  him  some  money  for  that.  The  place 
where  he  stands  looks  like  a temple.  Many  Brahmins 
liye  all  the  time  in  these  temples,  and  receive  many 
presents  from  pilgrims  that  come  from  a distance,  as  well 
as  from  the  people  who  live  near  by. 

The  white  marks  on  his  arms  and  forehead  are  made 
with  the  sacred  ashes.  He  has  a cord  and  a string  of 

' beads  about  his  neck.  They  think  the  cord  is  very 

61 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


sacred ; it  is  a sign  that  he  is  a Brahmin.  It  is  first  put 
on  to  Brahmin  bovs  Avheii  they  are  about  eiadit  rears  old. 

ty  c/  «/ 

He  is  as  proud  of  his  cord  as  a nobleman  is  of  his  stars, 
or  as  a soldier  of  his  medals.  He  uses  those  beads  when 
he  repeats  his  prayers.  He  says  a short  prayer  over  and 
over  a great  many  times,  and  he  thinks  the  value  of  his 
])rayer  depends  on  the  number  of  the  times  he  repeats  it,- 
so  he  keeps  count  with  his  beads.  How  much  this  makes 
ns  think  of  what  the  Saviour  says  about  praying, — ‘‘Use 
not  vain  repetitions  as  the  heathen  do.’^ 

The  two  men  talking  together,  in  the  same  picture,  are 
also  Brahmins.  You  notice  that  thev  have  onlv  a knot 

t/  V 

of  bail'  on  the  top  of  their  bead,  and  that  all  the  rest  is 

shaved  off.  Thev  are  verv  careful  of  that  lock  of  hair,  for 

they  think  they  could  not  he  saved  without  it.  Horv 

strange  it  seems  that  such  good-looking  men  should 

believe  such  foolish  things ! and  how  very  sad  it  is  they 

should  teach  all  the  people  to  believe  them! 

You  will  be  glad  to  know  that  since  the  missionaries 

62 


HINDOO  LIFE. 


have  gone  and  told  them  of  the  Saviour  who  died  upon 
the  cross  for  all  men,  many  of  the  people,  and  some 
Brahmins  even,  have  given  up  the  worship  of  their  false 
gods  ^ and  have  believed  in  him.  Still  there  are  many 
millions  in  India  who  have  never  even  once  heard  of 
Jesus  and  the  true  way  to  be  saved.  Many  more  mis- 
sionaries should  be  sent  there.  THien  you  grow  up 
would  you  not  like  to  go? 


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